I am here to warn you: Please don’t try this at home! A Reddit user admitted that they once threw their car into reverse and floored the accelerator–hoping to slow down and avoid a crash. I can list all the reasons this is a terrible idea, but the simplest may be that it just doesn’t work. And the driver in question said their story didn’t have a happy ending.

In the heat of the moment, it might seem like a fair trade-off: If I can get into reverse and avoid a crash–at the cost of my transmission–I might save the rest of the car, and someone’s life. And I can see the logic. If it actually worked. But I’m here to say, the stunts on Fast & Furious defy physics. Here in the real world this one wouldn’t manage to avoid the crash. Before your car can move backward, it must stop moving forward. And there’s no way to stop moving forward that’s quicker than your brakes.

Automatic Braking Systems became common on most models during the 1990s and mandatory for all cars after the year 2000. ABS detects when you’re pressing your brakes so hard that your wheels are locking up and your tires are skidding. Then it actually relaxes the braking just enough that you keep traction. Yes, it pulses the brakes so you are braking “less.” And there’s a very good reason why.

Imagine your car hurtling down the highway at 65 mph, and suddenly a deer has the bone-headed idea to cross the road. The factor limiting how soon you can stop is almost certainly the amount of traction your tires have. Once your tires are skidding along the road, you have no control and will “coast” to a stop about as soon as an ice skater would run out of momentum.

When you stamp the brakes on any car made in the past 35 years, it will stop you just as quickly as traction conditions allow (obviously you’ll stop quicker on a hot sticky day, and it’ll take much longer on ice).

Now, imagine the same nearsighted deer decides to hop in front of your bumper and you attempt to slam the car in reverse and gun the throttle. Forget that it’s a one-in-a-thousand chance that you’ll get reverse to even engage (and newer cars won’t even let you try). Forget that the maneuver will definitely destroy your transmission. The result will be the absolute opposite of a smooth ABS stop.

The best scenario is that when you hit the throttle your drive wheels will begin spinning backward, while momentum carries your 3,000+ pound car forward. The result: an instant skid. With your car hurtling forward and your wheels screaming backward, you’ll have no control. You’ll skid down the road like you’re on rubber skis, with no braking (or steering) ability at all. And you’ll slide to a stop–probably with a deer through your windshield–whenever you run out of momentum or hit something stationary. No fun.

The worst case scenario is that your engine will be unable to overpower your traction and forward momentum and your transmission will break apart irreparably. And your wheels will still break lose and you’ll go skidding down the road.

So, my dear reader, don’t drive faster than visibility. Keep your eyes peeled. Be ready to slam the brakes, keep the wheel straight, and trust your car. But if the thought crosses your mind, Would I stop faster in reverse? Know the answer is a scientifically-proven NO!

You can see just how messy this maneuver would be in the video below: